A round robin exercise in archaeometry: analysis of a blind sample reproducing a seventeenth century pharmaceutical ointment.

Chemical analysis of ancient residues of pharmaceutical or cosmetic preparations such as balms or ointments is made problematic by the high complexity of these mixtures, composed of organic and inorganic materials. Consequently, a multi-analytical approach and special caution in the interpretation of the results are necessary. In order to contribute to the improvement of analytical strategies for the characterization of complex residues and to reconstruct ancient medical practices, a replica of a pharmaceutical formulation of the seventeenth century was prepared in the laboratory according to a historically documented recipe. In a round robin exercise, a portion of the preparation was analysed as a blind sample by 11 laboratories using various analytical techniques. These included spectroscopic, chromatographic and mass spectrometric methods. None of the laboratories was able to completely reconstruct the complex formulation, but each of them gave partial positive results. The round robin exercise has demonstrated that the application of a multi-analytical approach can permit a complete and reliable reconstruction of the composition. Finally, on the basis of the results, an analytical protocol for the study of residues of ancient medical and pharmaceutical preparations has been outlined.

Characterization of commercial synthetic resins by pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry: application to modern art and conservation.

To characterize a set of synthetic resins, a methodology by pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) has been developed. The studied reference materials were commercial versions of a wide range of synthetic resins. For each polymer, the pyrolytic and chromatographic conditions were optimized to adequately resolve the fragment mixture in a short time. The proposed analytical method does not require previous treatment of the sample, and due to its high sensitivity, only a small sample quantity in the microgram range can be used. The pyrolysis temperature was found to have little effect on the obtained pyrograms. The summarized data set for the individual polymer materials, especially the characteristic fragments with a structure close to the monomeric unit, was useful to identify commercial synthetic resins. These materials were used in the art and conservation field, as binding media, paint additives, painting varnishes, coatings, or consolidants. Two case studies are introduced where direct Py-GC/MS and thermally assisted hydrolysis and methylation GC/MS were applied on art objects: first, a modern gluing material of a medieval reverse glass painting, and the second example, the binding medium of a painting by Georg Baselitz ("Senta", 1992/1993) from the Sammlung Moderne Kunst at the Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich.

Zn2Mg alkaline phosphatase in an early ptolemeic mummy.

Bone samples of a ptolemeic mummy have been employed to study the mode of conservation on the intactness of Zn2Mg alkaline phosphatase in both structure and catalytic activity. A protein of M(r) = 190 +/- 10 kDa being identical to the 200 kDa enzyme of fresh human bones was successfully isolated. Regardless of age 200 kDa protein bands and a distinct subunit at 60 kDa were seen in SDS-PAGE electrophoresis. The 200 kDa band was also monitored by activity staining. The specific activity was 120 mU/mg and 65% of the respective activity obtained in the identical preparation using fresh human tibia or rib. The enzymic activity was inhibited in the presence of 1,10-phenanthroline and L-homoarginine. Radiocarbon dating supported the assignment of the mummy to the early ptolemeic period. Among the many bactericidal and fungicidal components employed for mummification were aromatic alcohols, mono- and sesquiterpenes. Pistachio resin was the major balm resin used. The microbiological sterility of the bone surface was ascertained by independent bacterial and fungal examinations.

[Reduction of in-hospital mortality and improved secondary prevention after acute myocardial infarction. First results from the registry of secondary prevention after acute myocardial infarction (SAMI)]. / Rückgang der Krankenhaus-Sterblichkeit und verbesserte Sekundärprävention nach akutem Myokardinfarkt. Erste Ergebnisse des SAMI-Registers.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: In hospital mortality of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) has been reduced due to the availability of better therapeutic strategies. But there is still a gap between mortality rates in randomised trials and daily clinical practice. Thus, it was aim of the present registry to document the course and outcome of patients with AMI and to improve patient care by implementing recent guidelines. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In a nationwide registry study in hospitals in Germany with a cardiology unit or an internal medicine department data on consecutive patients were recorded for six to twelve months at admission, discharge and during a follow-up of one year. RESULTS: From 02/2003 until 10/2004 a total of 5,353 patients with acute myocardial infarction (65.7 % male, mean age of 67.6 +/- 17.7 years; 55.1 % of them with ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) were included in the registry. Of the patients with STEMI, 76.6 % underwent acute intervention, 37.1 % had thrombolysis, 69.7 % percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA). 40.0 % of those with non-Stemi (NSTEMI) had an acute intervention, 6.6 % thrombolysis, 73.5 % PTCA. Recommended secondary prevention consisted of ASS (93.2 %), beta-blockers (93.0 %), CSE-inhibitors (83.5 %), ACE-inhibitors (80.9 %) and clopidogrel (74.0 %). In-hospital mortality was 10.5 % (STEMI) and 7.4 % (NSTEMI). CONCLUSION: The 9 % mortality among patients with acute myocardial infarction treated in the hospitals participating in the SAMI registry is low compared to that in similar collectives. The high number of patients who had thrombofibrinolysis and coronary interventions as well as the early initiation of drug therapy contributed to these results. Medical treatment in the prehospital phase of these patients remains still insufficient and to a substantial extent contributes to the mortality of acute myocardial infarction.